


Candor

by twoturtlesinabathtub



Series: The Right Words [1]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: M/M, Pre-Relationship, Sidon is tender, Vignette
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-25
Updated: 2017-08-25
Packaged: 2018-12-19 16:46:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11901933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twoturtlesinabathtub/pseuds/twoturtlesinabathtub
Summary: Honesty may be the best policy, but that doesn't mean that it's the simplest.





	Candor

**Author's Note:**

> I literally banged this out in just a few hours because Sidon is soft and warm like mashed potatoes and I wanted to write about him so badly. Protect him.

Sidon, Prince of Zora's Domain, had always prided himself on his straightforwardness.

He'd never understood dishonesty, insincerity. If one concealed the truth, burying it under avoidance or lies, then it was only a matter of time before said truth was revealed. Being anything other than honest and frank was essentially pointless, and just a bother altogether.

He remembered thinking this several times over the years as he matured, doing his best to grow into the role mandated by his birthright. He'd been witness to the typical types of dishonesty: lying, cheating, taking advantage of others, and more. Still, one of the stranger types he discovered had come from an unexpected source.

Sidon had only been around thirty years old the first time it had happened—still so young and ridiculously naïve. One afternoon, just as he'd been about to go and get some spear training in, he heard two of the palace's royal guards walking past his chambers. For some reason, just as he was about to open his door, he stopped in his tracks at the sound of a distressed voice passing by.

"It's hopeless, it really is!" a male Zora's voice lamented. "I should just give up."

His theatrics were interrupted by a chuckle. "Get ahold of yourself, Tallo—you haven't even _said_ anything to her yet," a second voice replied. "Stop worrying so much about something that hasn't even happened."

"Oh, sure, that's easy for _you_ to say. Her father's hated me ever since I accidentally broke his favorite fishing net beyond repair, and that was fifteen years ago! Believe me, that old man knows how to hold a grudge. He's probably bad-mouthed me to Shaf a hundred times. I bet she thinks I'm a common low-life." The first speaker sounded like he was on the verge of tears.

As quietly as he could, Sidon cracked his door open and crept after the guards to continue listening to their conversation, unsure as to why he was even doing so in the first place.

He wasn't within earshot of them for a few moments, so he only heard the last part of something said by the second Zora. "...should just get it over with and ask her. Stop torturing yourself for no reason, moron."

"I can't!" The first guard cried. "She'll say that she doesn't, and that'll just kill me."

The second guard sighed deeply. "Goddess above, but you are stubborn. I have no idea why I even put up with you."

"It's because we're almost always assigned to work together," said the first one. It sounded to Sidon like he was sniffling.

"That was rhetorical, Tallo."

"...Oh." Then they rounded a corner and Sidon could no longer hear them.

He kept thinking about the guards' exchange even after he'd finished his training. From what he could gather, this Tallo had strong feelings for a female Zora named Shaf, but couldn't muster the courage to tell her how he felt. But _why_? What could possibly be so difficult about it? You go up to someone, tell them what you're thinking, and that's all there is to it. Trying to hide the truth was so inconvenient. Even if things didn't work out the way you wanted them to, it was much better to know the truth than to drag things on, needlessly worrying about the unknown.

But he saw it happen on more than one occasion. Sidon had always been observant, so he noticed the furtive looks, the small smiles exchanged, the little things that hinted at being in love. So many times, however, he saw these Zora dance awkwardly around one another, putting off saying what they felt until they were practically drowning in their own anxiety. He didn't understand them at all—he certainly wasn't a masochist. Perhaps he would never understand why they did this to themselves.

Then again, Sidon may have been honest and observant, but he was also a sheltered prince. So, naturally, when he was put in a similar situation, the reality check he was given slammed into him full-force and left him scrambling.

The moment he saw that tiny Hylian paragliding from the top of Lanayru Tower, landing on the bridge below him with shocking deftness, Sidon's eyes grew to the size of octoroks.

It wasn't merely because he was Hylian, that much he knew—he'd seen Hylians before. It was just that...this one was so small, and...so clever, and...so _cute_. He was obviously strong, and intelligent, considering that he'd activated both the tower and the shrine near it in quick succession.

As he stared down at the small figure on the bridge, it finally occurred to him that he needed to get his attention. Yes, that was probably important. Miraculously managing to not stutter, he called out. "Say, hey there! Young one!" The Hylian looked around him in confusion, trying to figure out where his voice was coming from. Sidon cursed himself. "Up top! Above you!" he shouted. Finally, he looked up at Sidon.

Sidon got the sudden urge to show off a bit. Without considering how ridiculous it might look, he vaulted from his perch and did a couple of front flips in the air before landing in front of the Hylian. Sidon straightened up to his full height and immediately realized that he'd misjudged just how _short_ the other was. Adorable. He then made the mistake of looking at the Hylian's face, which held eyes such a vibrant blue that they put the luminous stone of Zora's Domain to shame.

Oh, no, he was waxing romantic. Oh, _no_. He needed to keep it together.

Breezily apologizing for his dramatic entrance, he proceeded to introduce himself and urge the Hylian—Link was his name, he'd found—to come to the Domain and meet his father. The fact that the warrior had to take such a treacherous path concerned him, but after sending him on his way, Sidon decided to follow his progress. To make sure that he stayed safe, of course. It never occurred to him that part of his motivation was that he just wanted to follow the Hylian wherever he went. It never did. Nope. Not once.

And later, after Link had calmed Vah Ruta and brought the sun back to the Domain, Sidon decided that he was going to tell Link about how he felt: about how Link was the most charming, the most determined, the most positively  _lovable_  creature he'd ever known. But while he praised the Champion often and enthusiastically, he couldn't quite seem to say the words that needed saying most.

He'd been such a fool to think that honesty could always come so easily.


End file.
